“We are here to represent our country, please stop the row,” national kabaddi captain Dambar Bahadur Baruwal them, almost breaking down to tears. [break]
However, the officials continued to hurl accusations and counter-accusations till the altercation took a nasty turn. The row ensued after one of the two coaches of the men´s team -- Bimal Pokharel -- did not see his name enlisted in the official squad. Nepal Kabaddi Association President and the manager of the men´s team Sunil Raikarnikar was accused of writing Pokharel´s name off.
National woman´s captain Sangita Gautam was equally upset. “We have a match ahead, we don´t want this ruckus ahead of our match,” she told the officials.
Journalists and onlookers had to step in to take matters under control.
“I lined up with the players for the pre-match introductions with Bangladeshi players,” Pokharel said. “But Rajkarnikar removed my name from the squad later on.”
However, Rajkarnikar denied it. “The organizers removed his name as only one coach can represent a team,” he said.
Rajkarnikar also claimed that Pal presented a fake certificate and hence was kept out by the organizing committee.
Men´s coach Tara Singh Bhat expressed his displeasure at Rajkarnikar´s allegations against Pal. “Who are you to challenge NSC´s nomination?” Bhat asked Rajkarnikar.
Coaches and players were also unhappy with Rajkarnikar for he was also serving as a jury for the matches. “He is our team manager but instead of looking after the team, he is sitting on the stage as a jury,” Bhat complained.
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